Monthly Archives: June 2016

So, it’s been a couple of years, but I finally decided to get back to work on my Power Rangers fanfic, Guardians of Gaia, by posting ‘Season 2’ of the story. For the uninitiated, here’s the basic premise of my story: A parallel world to Earth called Gaia, which is tied to the natural elements of the world, is facing disaster. The Dark Zones of said world have been taken over by a powerful being called Dradarius, who is looking to conquer all of the other zones, cities, and locales of Gaia. Its ancient protectors, the Guardians of Gaia, disappeared millenia ago, and the source of their miraculous powers, the Gaian Crystals, with them. However, the crystals weren’t lost, instead passed down through the Guardians’ bloodlines…who wound up on Earth. As such, when five of them are brought back together by five college students, said students are sent to Gaia to protect it, not only as the newest Guardians of Gaia, but as the newest team of Power Rangers.

Furthermore, here’s a quick rundown of the main characters of the fic. And keep in mind, these rundowns do possess some spoilers, so if you don’t wanna know, scroll down past them.

Nichelle “Nikki” Markson – The Red Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Fire. She’s a natural leader and a disciplined martial artist and fencer, and while she initially had trouble with long-range weapons, she’s since improved her aim with them. She’s a tenacious fighter and strategist who has defeated many powerful foes single-handedly, including the massive Plesio Lightless and the soul-stealing Ammit Lightless, but she has trouble dealing with loss, and treats any injuries that befall her friends as personal failures of hers. Despite these short-comings, Nikki has nonetheless earned the right to be named the true Guardian of Fire by the most stubborn of races on Gaia, the volcanic Magma Naga. Her Gaia Zord is the Phoenix Zord, which can assault foes with its razor-sharp talons, flame breath, and burning aileron roll.

Patrick “Pat” O’Donnell – The Green Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Wind. Born to a meteorologist and a geologist, Patrick has learned much of his parents’ trades, and has also become skilled at fencing and parkour. He’s easily the most gifted swordsman of the team, using finesse and a little bit of luck to topple monsters like the Skeleton Lightless, who had previously bested the others in 4-on-1 combat. He has trouble admitting what he’s really thinking at times, and tends to put the good of others over himself to the point of self-sacrifice. Furthermore, an incident in battle cost him the use of his eyes, requiring him to further hone his natural and wind-based senses to compensate. His Gaia Zord is the Hippogriff Zord, which can both ride and manipulate the winds with ease, generate small tornadoes, and stomp down on foes with its thick hooves.

Layla Bluestone – The Blue Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Water. A gamer-girl and tech expert, Layla was initially weak in combat, preferring to fight from a long distance, but has since toughened up a bit, once defeating the Frog Lightless by enduring its attacks long enough to find its weak point. An open lesbian, she’s currently dating a Dryad named Faye, and once subconsciously and unsuccessfully tried to hit on Nikki. While she’s occasionally made mistakes doing so, she’s been working to improve and expand upon the team’s weapons and equipment. She initially believed she was Madilyn’s sister, but this was revealed to be false, though she quickly forgave her and accepted her as her sister in her heart, regardless of blood relation. Her Gaia Zord is the Leviathan Zord, a long sea serpent which can coil around foes, tripping them up or keeping them held firmly in place, and can attack with blasts of ice.

Dirk Slater – The Orange Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Earth. He is the muscle of the group, having grown up on a farm and having taken up wrestling in high school. While he’s occasionally the source of comedic relief, oftentimes pointing out certain long-standing tropes and coincidences in Ranger history, he also has a much more sensitive side to him he tries to hide. When the Doppelganger Lightless tried to trick him by appearing as his sister, Dirk was angered to the point of vengeance at the idea of villains using family against someone, especially his own. He also has occasionally butted heads with Layla over whether the Gaia Zords are machines or living creatures, though the two are still friends regardless of belief. His Gaia Zord is the Behemoth Zord, a bull-like monstrosity who mows down foes with its massive horns and orange energy orbs.

Madilyn ‘Mad’ Bluestone – The Violet Gaia Ranger and Guardian of Lightning. Initially, Madilyn believed herself to be the leader of the group, as she was the one who brought them all together initially, but eventually conceded the position to Nikki, though the two can still butt heads at times. Her more hyperactive, chaotic, and overly optimistic stance has been known to cause turmoil for the team, as has her over-protectiveness of Layla, but she’s since come to grips with why she behaves in such a manner and tried her best to cool down for her team’s sake. Still, her energy is oftentimes seen as a major asset to the group, and she can at times think outside the box to confuse enemies, like the telepathic Satori Lightless. Her Gaia Zord is the Thunderbird Zord, which can launch electrified feathers from its wings, and can shoot lightning from its eyes.

Jowar – The Wizard Ranger and Guardian of Light. The last of the Wizards of Gaia, he gave up his powers years ago to his newborn son, Walker. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a mistake when Walker was taken and raised by Dradarius, Usurper of the Dark Throne, and raised to be one of his Shadowmancers. However, Jowar later came across the Light Crystal, which reinvigorated him. He mostly prefers to wait on the team in the Ancient Library as their mentor, though this is mainly due to the crystal’s power weakening the further away from the library he gets. But, when the time calls for it, his light-based powers are the natural foil for Dradarius’ dark-based monsters, such as the mighty Orthrus Lightless. While he doesn’t possess a Gaia Zord of his own, he controls the Magna Cannon, a giant weapon that emerges from the Ancient Library, which can blast apart monsters or empower the Rangers’ Zords.

Drayden Snyder – The Indigo Ranger and Guardian of Darkness. Despite learning Muay Thai kick-boxing growing up, Drayden always felt like a cheap imitation of his explorer father, Professor Charles Snyder. However, he was dragged into Gaia and was given the chance to become his own man if he fused his body and consciousness with that of a disembodied spirit. Unfortunately, said spirit was a former Dark General named Dargoon, who tried to destroy Gaia and nearly defeated the Rangers until they freed Drayden from his control. At first, he alienated himself from his father and the group, thinking himself evil because of the darkness still inside him, until he realized he wasn’t and officially joined the team. His Gaia Zord is the Dragon Zord, which can blast enemies with powerful dark flames, and is strong enough to carry the Rangers’ Gaia Megazord on its back while in flight.

Anyway, if you’re interested in the story, feel free to click the links below and start reading, and be sure to let me know what you think of it so far. Ja né!

…Yeah, I’m just gonna come out right here and say something: This article is about My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and talks about whether we should have an LGBT pony. If that doesn’t appeal to you, do us both a favour and don’t read. Don’t read, don’t comment, and I will have no problems with you whatsoever. I know it can be seen as a strange subject, and even if not strange, if there’s one universal constant I’ve found in my lifetime, it’s that nothing is for everybody, so no hard feelings, really.

So, something caught my attention a while ago. Apparently, there was a writer working for IDW who said that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy being in a romantic relationship should be canon. I’m not gonna get into that discussion much more, other than stating that, despite being an outed Flutterdash shipper in the past, I know that having the obvious tomboy and the introvert come out as a couple could be seen as a stereotype. Rather, instead, I find myself wondering why, whether it’s these two or anyone else on the show, is there no openly, canon, LGBT pony. And I know, there are other shows out there with positive depictions of LGBT characters. I’m just saying, not everyone who watches those shows watches MLP, where they would like a positive depiction of an LGBT character.

Now, there might be some of you out there saying “But wait, Jyger85! There IS an LGBT couple on MLP!” Well, first off, you can call me Jeff, we’re all friends here. And second off, NO. That is not canon. You THINK it is, and I not only know why you think it is but actually agree that it should be, but it isn’t. And for those of you wondering what I’m talking about, I’m talking about Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon…or Secret Agent Sweetie Drops, or whatever her name is now. lol Point is, these two have been background ponies showing up together for YEARS now, but anytime they’ve talked, they keep saying they’re best friends, and according to the MLP wiki…

“And I quote…”

“Sweetie Drops frequently appears with Lyra Heartstrings, which has been explained by a layout artist to be mostly coincidental and based on aesthetic considerations, as far as season one is concerned”. However, here’s why a lot of people think these two are a couple…

Admittedly, fans of a show will sometimes try to dig deeper to try and see if there are elements of the story and characters beyond what is shown to us, and will oftentimes ship people for reasons others might not be able to see.

There’s a list of evidence on TV Tropes showing all the reasons presented in the show why fans might believe these two are a couple (among others, lol), but for me, it boils down to one episode: Slice of Life. Listen to their dialogue in that episode, watch their body language and facial expressions, and listen to the emphasis they put on the words “best friends”, hammering it in to the point of sounding forced, and tell me that these two do not come off even the SLIGHTEST bit as a couple.

What’s hilarious, though, is that, in the same episode I just mentioned, we find out that DJ Pon-3 (once known as Vinyl Scratch) and Octavia Melody actually live together. Now, whether they’re just room-mates or a couple has never been made canon. My own thoughts? Well, I don’t know if I believe in the romantic pairing of these two, but they are most definitely a pair, and one I’d love to see playing off each other in the future. Still, I wouldn’t mind if these two came out.

But back to Lyra and Sweetie Drops. Personally, here’s what I would do. You have the finale (whether it’s a season finale or the series finale, I don’t know, but maybe it’d work better if it were the latter) include a scene where the Mane 6 are running through Ponyville. They’re running in great urgency to stop something, and it’s a very pulse-pounding affair, and you see everything in the background rushing by, and at one point, they run past town hall, where you see the two exiting right after getting married. That’s how I would out those two, and here’s why: Because a lot of fans love to watch the background and freak out over stuff they see in it, and I guarantee that would get a TREMENDOUS reaction. Just have it in the middle of the episode, and watch what happens. lol

Anyway, that’s all I had to say about this. Lemme know what you all think in the comments, and keep watching the background, because you never know what might pop up. Ja né!

In addition to that, we’ve also got this trailer that was revealed a couple of days before E3 got started.

So, as usual, let’s go over the Pokémon covered in these videos. I should also note that there were two other Pokémon revealed in a CoroCoro leak, but we’re not gonna go over them just yet, since a few details (like their English names) have yet to be revealed. Until then, let’s start a little different and go over a Pokémon we already knew of.

Zygarde, the Order Pokémon

We’ve actually known for some time that Zygarde had different forms, due to their presence in the anime. That, combined with the title of the current arc of the anime, XY&Z, led people to believe there would be a Pokémon Z released, and that these forms would be released in said game. Instead, it looks as though the writers of the anime opted to use this arc to advertise these new forms early. Right off the bat, I can’t help but notice that Zygarde seemingly can only access its Complete Forme (or Perfect Zygarde, as people are calling it because, let’s be honest, the similarity to Cell is staggering) by first going 10% Forme (the dog). So what does this mean for Zygarde’s standard form we’ve already gotten to know? How do Zygarde Cell and Zygarde Core fit into all this? And does this mean Ash-Greninja will also be a thing in the games? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I WILL say that its Core Enforcer attack is AWESOME. It’s like Zorro with a freaking laser beam. I love it. XD

Pikipek, the Woodpecker Pokémon…Try saying that five times fast. lol

Pikipek is apparently #10 in the Alola Regional Dex, and has two evolutions, so I’m pretty sure we’re looking at our early region bird. One thing that separates it from the others, though, is one of the two Abilities it can have: Skill Link. That means moves that hit 2-5 times (like Fury Attack, Bone Rush, or Rock Blast) will now ALWAYS hit 5 times. Combined with its Pokédex page saying it can strike targets with its beak 16 times per second, and I’m pretty sure it will learn Fury Attack, and perhaps some sort of new Flying-type equivalent to it. Its other Ability is Keen Eye, which you should know all about, especially with birds. The only move that I know for sure that it learns is Peck. And yes, it’s been brought to my attention that Pikipek looks like Pearl from Steven Universe…which is funny, because it’s weak against Rock-types. lol

Yungoos, the Loitering Pokémon

Yungoos is a mongoose. I’m not sure why the ‘e’ was taken off at the end of its name for English, but whatever. Point is, it’s a Normal-type, and has two different Abilities it can know: Strong Jaw, which increases the power of biting moves (like Bite, Crunch, Fire Fang, etc.), and Stakeout, which does more damage to Pokémon who are just switching in when it attacks, so you’ll wanna be careful about whether you want to switch Pokémon or not while battling it. The only move it was shown using was Tackle, but with Strong Jaw, I think it’s pretty clear that it will learn biting moves as it levels up and/or as Egg Moves. Originally, I didn’t think this was gonna be our new Rattata for this region, considering that a mongoose isn’t considered vermin. However, it’s been brought to my attention that, as mongooses are an invasive species in Hawaii, technically speaking, it IS considered vermin there, so here we are. The more you know, I guess.

Grubbin, the Larva Pokémon

I fully expect Grubbin to evolve, since early revealed Bug-types usually do, and based on its appearance, I would imagine its evolved form will be some kind of beetle. In fact, since there already are beetle-like Pokémon in existence, I wonder if this is the pre-evolution that will link the two? Probably not, but hey, it’s a theory we can speculate about. Its only Ability (that we know of, anyway) is Swarm, which increases the damage done by Bug-type moves when its health gets low. The only attack we know of that it can learn so far is String Shot, though since it apparently seems to love electricity, I’d imagine a likely move for it to learn is Electro Web.

We also learned about a new way to battle: Battle Royal. Four Trainers send out one Pokémon each. Anyone can attack anyone. When one of your Pokémon are knocked out, you send out a new one. The battle continues until one Trainer has had all of their Pokémon knocked out, at which point, the other Trainers will have the number of Pokémon they’ve knocked out added to the number they still have conscious to determine who did the best. Not sure what happens if there’s a tie, like maybe it then goes into overtime or something. Personally, I would’ve just had all four Trainers battle til the last one standing, but whatever. I will say that, given the rules presented, you probably wanna try to make alliances early so that you don’t get singled out by all three opponents. Also, the image for Battle Royals confirms something else: There IS Trainer customization of some kind in this game. So, for those wondering, this seems to solidify that it IS back.

There was also a demonstration of the game streamed on Treehouse. If you wanna watch it, it’s right here…

I will say that this both answers a few questions about the early game while also opening the floor to several new questions. Apparently, each of the four islands has a guardian deity, and the deity for the island you start off on, supposedly called Melemele, is referred to as Tapu Koko. These deities are highly implied to be Pokémon, so does this mean there’s a Pokémon named Tapu Koko, or is that a title of some sort? Is this a Legendary Pokémon, or could Tapu Koko be an individual of a species of regular Pokémon found on the island? We also know that Hau is referred to as the “grandson of the kahuna”. Kahuna is apparently a Hawaiian term for…

“And I quote…”

…”a priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, or expert in any profession”. I’m still convinced that Hala is Hau’s grandfather, so that tells me that he is the kahuna. It’s also been suggested that Hala is a great Trainer of some sort, so perhaps kahuna is also a Trainer class in this game. Something else we learned from this video is that, after encountering a Pokémon in battle once, the battle menu will show which of the moves your Pokémon can use will be effective, super-effective, or not very effective against that Pokémon when you battle it again. There’s also the option to check on each Pokémon in battle to see how much their status has been changed by the effects of different moves and Abilities. Both of these things are great for beginners, and unlike stuff like giving away items like Lucky Eggs and Exp. Shares, I don’t really mind this too much. Heck, it makes things easier for me, too, since there’ve been some changes to the type chart as of late. And lastly, we learned that Popplio can learn Disarming Voice, furthering the fan theory that it will evolve into a Water/Fairy-type, which I would actually be okay with, especially since it would make it vastly different from other seal-like Pokémon we’ve seen in the past.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Be sure to check back here when we next learn anything about the new games, and to get the games when they come out in November. Ja né!

…Well, here we are, the last issue of Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death, and what’s going to be one of, if not THE last time, I look at something from the New 52. How does it fare? Well…it’s okay, but it involves yet ANOTHER character coming in to deal with the situation, and it has a cliffhanger ending that I’m worried will never get followed up on. I mean, I get why Amy Chu felt it had to end this way, and I’ll get to that in a bit, but suffice to say, it’s a little aggravating, though it’s at least a better ending than I thought we were gonna get for a while. Anyway, before I go into what I liked and disliked about this issue and the series as a whole, I need to do a quick look at the plot for this issue, so yes, SPOILERS AHEAD.

Thank God, her outfit on the cover isn’t her costume in the comic. lol

So, long story short, it turns out Grimley was the one behind the murders and the theft of Pamela’s research, meaning Victor from issue 4 was actually working for him. While his body WAS found dead at the end of issue 2, it turns out he sort of left it behind like a cocoon. It’s also hinted that he may have been behind keeping the cops off Ivy, as well as outright stated that he put a halt to the police investigation of the lab, since her staying in the game was required for his survival. Doesn’t completely excuse the two incompetent cops, but whatever. Point is, Grimley needed Pam’s research because he found it could help battle his cancer. Unfortunately, not only has it transformed him into a monster called the Grim, but his cancer came back anyway. He needs the Sporelings’ cells to stay alive, and doesn’t care if it kills them. Luckily for Ivy, Darshan came and freed the kids from Ivy’s cage so they could help her, but that isn’t quite enough to seal the deal, so naturally, what else should happen but Swamp Thing showing up to save the day. He punches a hole through Grim, who falls on Darshan, but Darshan lives because main character shields, Grim gets back up, grabs Rose, they fight again, and then Thorn HACKS GRIM APART WITH A MACHETE and drops his pieces in the river where they dissolve for some reason. DAMN, GIRL. O_O Anyway, Darshan makes a couple of WWE gags toward Swamp Thing that made me giggle, he takes the girls back in, and Alec talks to Ivy about how she might not have thought bringing the Sporelings into the world all the way through, but that they’re her responsibility. She needs to look after them, but she can’t keep hiding them forever, and that while people like them might be unique, they aren’t alone. As such, Pam finally decides to call Harley to try to make amends, but as she goes back into the house, the Sporelings are gone. Turns out that Darshan, knowing they’d try it with or without his help, got them to the Gotham Bus Terminal without anyone spotting them and I guess provided them fare to get out of Gotham. Apparently, they realized that the cops would come looking for them after what happened in the club and have decided it’s best to take off, but it’s hinted that they also have plans to “change the world”.

So, let’s talk about what I liked about this issue specifically first. While the art team is very clearly there to fill in the work for Mann, as he was leaving to start early work on Trinity, they nonetheless pass in a decent job…Well, okay, let’s just put it this way: For a last-minute change, the art could’ve been a LOT worse. We’ve all seen how those can usually end up in the past. While you all know my issues with killing, especially in the case where Grim could be brought back as a recurring member of Ivy’s rogues gallery, I get that this is a mini-series without a guaranteed continuation later, and that it wouldn’t be the hardest thing in the world to bring him back if it does. And while I made a joke about how Darshan survived where he probably shouldn’t have been able to, I AM glad he lived, and comprehend that he understood that the girls were gonna leave Gotham with or without his help and thus did what he thought was right. Even if the ending hints that he wasn’t necessarily, it’s easy to see where he thought he was. I might’ve done the same, honestly. And I’m glad that Ivy finally decided to call Harley in the end. While I’m not always a fan of how the two are written together nowadays, I AM still a fan of their pairing, and it’s good to see Pam acknowledge that she has people in her life that she loves.

And now for what I didn’t like. First off, while it’s always awesome to see Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing kicking ass, Alec showing up kinda hijacked the plot just a little bit, especially with how easily he brought down Grim at first. That said, I was kinda hoping that, should Swamp Thing make a cameo, it would tie into the fact that Ivy was tasked with regrowing his body after what happened in Justice League United, and that maybe regrowing him led to a breakthrough that showed Ivy how she could create the Sporelings in the first place, but no such luck. Speaking of, THAT ENDING. Look, I get that Amy Chu is trying to leave us with an ending where it’s suggested that this isn’t the end, or maybe to encourage the higher-ups at DC to either let her or someone else do something more with this story, but since we don’t know for sure that there WILL be a continuation, it instead feels like…the end of Sonic SatAM, I guess is a good example. Speaking of, I think it’s hinted that the girls might be in the midst of a heel turn with that ominous final line, but again, I can’t be sure, because for all I know, we’re never gonna see them again. Also, I get what they’re thinking with leaving, but I don’t think THEY thought it all the way through. So, basically, they’re leaving because they’re worried the cops will come after them and that it’s safer for everyone if they just weren’t around. Okay… … …except now, the only suspect left is Poison Ivy, and there’s no one left to cover her trail for her. Hell, take it a step further from that, and assume they eventually link Darshan to her. Between the lab and everything else, they’ll think she was behind everything and that he was an accomplice, which could end with him going to frigging Blackgate. Alternatively, you could’ve turned yourselves in and spared those you care about by claiming full responsibility. Granted, still not a great solution, and might’ve ended with Ivy being chased by the police anyway, but still comes off as a bit more selfless and thought-out than running away.

So, overall, what are my thoughts on the Poison Ivy mini-series? Well, it’s kind of a mixed bag for me. When it does well, it does really well, but when it does poorly, it’s really aggravating to me. Granted, that could just be because of how I personally view Ivy, and how much I want her to have a good solo title, but it’s also possible that the book had problems. Members of the art team having to tag out because of work elsewhere, story elements having to be rushed and blended in together because of the nature of the book being a six-issue mini-series, kinda conflicting messages as to whether or not Pam thinks it’s okay to kill, and characters coming in to hog the spotlight. On the other hand, though, when Ivy is in the zone, it’s awesome. She’s a brilliant-minded woman, but one who is capable of making mistakes and not thinking things all the way through, which just goes to prove that she IS human. Again, Darshan was a delight, and if this DOES get an on-going later, I’d love to see him back. I’m also glad he’s not involved simply to be a love interest. The mystery, while not exactly having the best structure in terms of giving the reader a chance to piece it together themselves along the way, at least makes sense by the end, and provides Ivy with someone she could have a longtime feud with, should the writers choose to do so. So, like I said, it’s a mixed bag, but one that I think provides the potential for a far better ongoing solo title. That said, I WOULD have to insist that the book simply be called Poison Ivy. I get the need for Cycle of Life and Death here, but for the ongoing, just Poison Ivy is fine. Overall, I definitely don’t regret buying this book, and I would encourage all of you who haven’t yet and want DC to make a Poison Ivy ongoing solo-title to do so. Hell, you might even enjoy it more than me, since I maybe have a tendency to over-think certain stuff. 😛

Ha ha, it’s funny because Scooby Doo’s the next thing DC is planning to make more modern and edgy. -_-

Anyway, lemme know what you all thought of this book, and let’s hope that the sales and overall interest are good enough in the end that DC makes an ongoing Poison Ivy Rebirth title. Either way, though, for those that read this and have been members of the Poison Ivy League, remember that we made this happen. So, regardless of what’s done with this from here on out, this was nonetheless a victory where some thought it couldn’t be attained, so pat yourselves on the back for that. Ja né!

…Well, it’s been a while since we’ve talked about Zelda on this blog, hasn’t it? 😛 And what better time to make up for that than right here. Now, keep in mind, as I’m typing this, I haven’t been watching Nintendo Treehouse for more info, as it’s one of those things where, if you didn’t watch from the beginning, you’re pretty much screwed, so I’m basing this article solely on the trailer. When the whole thing is posted as a single, viewable video, I’ll check it out and see what I got right. For now, though, here’s the trailer…

… … … …HOLY HYLIA. O_O So, let’s go ahead and get the obvious thing to do with this trailer out of the way: Figuring out where this takes place in the timeline. Well, we can very clearly spot the Bridge of Eldin in one scene, so as it pertains to the fork in the timeline, that tells me that this takes place in the same line as where Link went back in time, warned of Ganondorf’s plans, and thus Ganondorf was tried and executed for his crimes against Hyrule…well, or so people were led to believe, anyway. Granted, Hyrule has obviously gone through some changes since then, but then again, Hyrule in Twilight Princess looks different from how it did in Ocarina of Time, so it’s not too big a leap to suggest that this is the same Hyrule, only that things have changed in the time between the games. We see the Master Sword in the woods, which admittedly could be either the Lost Woods from A Link To The Past or the Sacred Grove from Twilight Princess, but regardless of which one it is, the place has clearly been overgrown by grass quite a bit.

Speaking of, the next thing I’m left to guess at is that a LONG time has passed between Twilight Princess (assuming I’m right about the timeline placement) and Breath of the Wild. What makes me say that? Well, a few things. Specifically, Hyrule seems a lot more lush when it comes to plant and wildlife than it did previously, and we don’t see ANYONE else in the trailer other than Link. That tells me one of two things happened: Either the Hylians all eventually moved on to new lands, leaving Hyrule to the other creatures that inhabit it, or there was some sort of disaster that occurred and that there are very few Hylians left. Naturally, I could be wrong in either case, and that Nintendo simply hasn’t shown off the Hylian settlements in the game yet, but I don’t think I am. Why? The title of the game is Breath of the Wild. Between the title and the gameplay, this game clearly has an emphasis on Link having to survive in the wilds with few to no one around to help him. We hear a voice in the trailer, but it doesn’t sound like she’s anyone who is talking directly with Link, instead being telepathy, or simply some other kind of voice in his head.

On the subject of Link, something odd I noticed during this trailer is that, at no point in it, do we see Link in his trademark green tunic. Instead, we see him in a lot of other kinds of clothes and even armour at one point. This seems to suggest that either Link will find different full outfits to wear along the journey, or that attire customization is going to be a thing in this game. Personally, I’m kind of hoping for the latter, but again, why the lack of the green tunic? Well, the tunic seems to be connected to the Hero of Hyrule, the one who saved it from evil, and thus is why Link wears it in his every incarnation, as he is destined to become the hero. So, why doesn’t he wear it here? One possibility is that he isn’t the hero in this game, or perhaps that he simply hasn’t earned the right yet. But there is one other thing to point out, as it pertains to the Hero of Hyrule: His weapon of choice, the Master Sword.

As we see in the trailer, the Master Sword is rusted and cracked all over. Now, why would this be? It’s been thousands, if not MILLIONS, of years since Skyward Sword, when the Goddess Sword was transformed into the Master Sword, and not once has it ever been shown to have this type of damage done to it. So why now? This would SEEM to suggest something very wrong has happened to it and/or to Hyrule. We know that monsters are not only roaming the land, but now have encampments and are much more organized, that there are massive Guardians around Hyrule, and that Ganon apparently plays a role in this game, but what does that indicate? Has Ganondorf finally taken over and gotten revenge? Has the Master Sword simply become too damaged because of the growing evil in the lands? Could something have happened to the link (pun intended) between it and the line of the hero? And where does that leave Link? Is he a survivor of a group that were hiding out in Hyrule and is now on his own, or some kind of explorer that’s returned to Hyrule to determine what’s happened after so long?

Well, right now, we have no answers. All we can do now is speculate as we wait for more details to arise between now and its release next year on the Wii U and NX. Still, lemme know what you all think of the trailer, as well as my ramblings, and we’ll see what comes up between now and the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Ja né!

…So, I mentioned this on my Facebook, but I figured I should bring this up on my blog. Yes, I know about the horrible shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Florida. I don’t know all the details. What I do know is this: Around 50 people were killed in this shooting, and about 50 more were injured. I’ve heard that, in the wake of this, some people have chosen to put their own projects on indefinite hold. However, I’ve instead opted not to. On the contrary, I feel it necessary to continue my work as a form of entertainment and escapism for anyone affected by this tragedy. In fact, because the LGBT community has been the target of a lot of hate as of late, culminating in this attack, I’ve decided to do some LGBT related articles, starting with this one. It’s no secret that I love lots of diversity in comics, and while DC has kinda failed from time to time to get it right, there ARE a number of gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, and even asexual characters among their vast line-up. But who are my personal favourites? Well, let’s find out. Here are my 5 Favourite LGBT DC Characters.

#1 – Jackson Hyde, AKA Aqualad

I’ve actually heard that the staff of the Young Justice cartoon claimed that Jackson was “not straight”, and that’s where he made his first appearances, so no, DC Rebirth’s outing him isn’t necessarily a retcon…I think. I’m gonna get into this when I review DC Universe Rebirth #1, but the thing is, the implication some people are taking from his scene in the book is that he’s gay. However, I’m pretty sure the intent with him prior was that he was bi, not gay, so I’m hoping they stick with that. Regardless, I really like Aqualad. His position in the Aquaman stories is complex, but in a good way, he’s got a kickass power-set and a usually level-headed demeanor (at least in the show, I haven’t read much of his appearances in the comics), and I’m glad to see him making his return. I seem to recall hearing once that he was originally supposed to join the Teen Titans in the New 52, but it never came to be, and considering how the team did in that era, might be for the better that he didn’t. Still, this DOES make me wonder if he’ll either join the Titans in the Rebirth era, or perhaps be part of a new Young Justice team. And considering how many people would like to see a return of the Young Justice TV series, honestly, I’d go with the latter as a means to either push that idea or give the fans clamoring for it a consolation prize.

#2 – Pamela Isley, AKA Poison Ivy

Honestly, is anyone REALLY shocked? And yes, for the record, Pamela’s bisexuality has been made canon. Granted, it’s in a book I don’t much care for, and the writers don’t always seem to get her all that well, but I appreciate the fact that they made clear what many of us assumed for a while now. I remember for years thinking it already WAS established canon, actually. But anyway, Poison Ivy is a character who has a lot of layers to her. She suffers from seasonal affective disorder, which can sometimes undermine her better judgment and brilliant mind, and she’s been known to…well, let’s call a spade a spade, she kills people. However, she really DOES care for the planet, as most of her criminal endeavors over the years have been to stop people from polluting or otherwise mistreating it, and to those who think she doesn’t care about human beings, she once protected a park full of orphaned children. No one told her to, she just did it because she identified with their trauma and because it was the right thing to do. She once gave up her powers because she was afraid it might be killing them. So yeah, she IS a good person deep down. Just…don’t ever piss her off, and in the words of Captain Planet, protect the environment, or she’ll fucking kill you. 😛

#3 – Katherine Kane, AKA Batwoman

History’s a funny thing, isn’t it? The original Batwoman was created specifically to be Batman’s love interest as a means of disproving concerns that he was gay for Robin. 50 years later, the character was reintroduced as a lesbian, and is actually Bruce’s cousin. And frankly, all the better in my opinion, as she’s arguably the single most high-profile LGBT superhero in DC’s entire roster, and is currently Batman’s equal in his new boot camp in Detective Comics. Also, her existence provides more of something Batman is lacking: Family. While he’s brought in wards and made plenty of allies, we don’t see a lot of his surviving blood relatives. I think right now, off the top of my head, there’s Kate, her dad, her sister, and Bruce’s son, Damian, and alternate Earth daughter, Helena. That’s it. And while there’s more than a lot different about Bruce and Kate in their personalities and approaches to crime fighting, there’s also a lot that’s the same, which may be the real reason they haven’t always gotten along together that great as superheroes. Oh, and in Batman: Bad Blood, she used guns, and I’m not a big fan of that, but it at least makes sense with her military training, and she DID switch her live rounds for rubber bullets by the end, so I can tolerate it and still like her in that movie, unlike some other things in it, but let’s not go there…

#4 – Miguel Barragan, AKA Bunker

…Okay, I’m gonna admit to something that people might find a bit strange to hear come out of my mouth, and I understand that. Frankly, it baffles me a bit, too. But, having thought about it for a while, and looking back over the character’s history, I’ve come to a conclusion: Scott Lobdell wrote Bunker best so far. He was optimistic, entertaining, and just outright FUN. I don’t know what they were trying to do with him in the new book, but he wasn’t what I’d necessarily call “fun”. In fact, he kinda had an attitude that rubbed me the wrong way, at least in comparison to how I knew him to be prior. I hope if he comes back in Rebirth, he more resembles his previous personality. Also, I gotta wonder about something: As I said before, Aqualad was originally rumoured to be joining the Teen Titans in the New 52. Now, we’ve met Bunker’s boyfriend, and he’s not Jackson, but I can’t help but wonder if the original intent was for Jackson to be Bunker’s boyfriend and be on the team? Food for thought is all I’m saying.

#5 – Harleen Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn

Again, like Ivy, Harley Quinn has been confirmed to be bisexual by the writers of her book, so she counts. And, like I said before, I honestly thought she already WAS confirmed to be a while ago, and I have no idea why it took anyone from DC so long to finally let that particular cat (or hyena, as it were) out of the bag. Now, maybe it was a concern that such might be controversial, but lemme ask you something: Which is the more controversial thing to do with a character? To have Harley be bisexual, or to have her be in a long-term abusive relationship with a killer clown, and have her get the shit kicked outta her multiple times, once or twice even in a cartoon show? And I’m not saying they shouldn’t have done that, as it was an intriguing look into abusive relationships and twisted psyches, while also serving as a cautionary tale. I’m just saying, once you’ve crossed that line, how is this any worse? Regardless, it’s out in the open now, with no going back, though I have my doubts they’ll reference that in DC Super Hero Girls. lol

Hmm, y’know, while I like this list, I feel like there are others I should at least mention… … …Ah, screw it, here’s a collage of some of my other favourite confirmedLGBT characters in DC Comics, so no Wonder Woman since DC’s never made it 100% clear about her. lol

Anyway, be sure to leave your own favourites in the comments, OR let me know if there’s anyone else you’d like to see officially come out at DC these days. Ja né!

So, the past few days have been exciting for NetherRealm fans. As has been speculated and hinted at for a few years now, we finally have confirmation: Injustice 2 is on the way. What’s not so awesome for me is that, apparently, this game will not be available for any system I own. Once again, bend me over and f** ** ** *** *** for being a Nintendo guy. lol I kid, I get that this happens sometimes, and of course I’ll probably still watch playthroughs of the game when it comes out, but it’s a little frustrating is all. And I’ll get into why specifically, but for now, let’s take a look at the trailers.

Right off the bat, I gotta say how much I appreciate how frigging colourful the gameplay trailer was. Anyone who played the first Injustice game knows just how dark and gritty it looked at times, even when heroes like Green Lantern were on the scene, but this game has so many different bright and shiny colours and effects going on. It’s a marvel to look at, and a bit of a relief since, while I liked the announce trailer, the darker tone of it made me think we were going back there with this game. Instead, the announce trailer is simply to set a thematic tone with its darkness and everyone fighting, while the gameplay will be so much brighter, which makes me wonder a bit about how the story will unfold, if we’ll perhaps see a clash of all the darkness and despair from the previous game’s story going up against a more optimistic and hopeful era.

To explain what I mean by that, let’s look back on the plot of the previous game. And, before anyone asks, I did not read the comics, primarily because I knew I wouldn’t like the depressing and grimdark tone of it, though I do admit to laughing my ass off at some of the bits I’ve seen involving Harley Quinn. Why ISN’T Green Arrow’s hideout called The Quiver? But anyway, the point is, last game, we had the Justice League of a world more akin to what we’d usually expect out of our heroes being tasked with saving an alternate Earth (which I’m just going to call Earth Injustice) where Superman, after being tricked into killing his wife and unborn child, slipped into madness and took over, creating a conflict between his Regime and Batman’s Insurgency. In the end, the good Superman defeated the evil one, locking him away in a prison that robbed him of his powers, the members of his Regime were arrested, and the fallen Earth was given a chance to start over, though it was hinted at the very end that evil Superman still had a tiny portion of his powers left.

So, there’s two ways I think this story can go. The obvious one is to tell what happened on Earth Injustice after the Regime crumbled. After all, the Injustice comic has gone on for five years now, telling the tales of this world and its characters (and killing them off willy nilly), meaning a lot of work has been put into it. Seems like a waste to toss aside, is all I’m saying, especially now that there’s an opportunity to tell what happened next. However, I have a feeling that the story will consist more of “first things were bad, and now they’re worse”. Like I said, everything seems so bright and shiny in the gameplay. Now, that could be because of the better graphics, but honestly, I would take advantage of that. Show that there are people who have stepped up since the collapse of the Regime that have taken great care in building the world back up. Have the optimists trying to deal with fixing the world. Then the trouble starts, likely an invasion of some sort combined with Superman getting free, and have it be a clash between the two sides that shows the brighter, more optimistic side take on the darker and dire side. And when it comes to bringing back the old characters that died, maybe have them be brought back as Black Lanterns or zombies (Atrocitus IS apparently part of the story this time, after all, and he’s delved into necromancy in the past), or have characters like Red Arrow or Mary Marvel step up to take their place, but with a few adjustments.

The other way the story could go is to have it take place on the world where the good Justice League come from. Why do I think that? Well, let’s take a second and look at Superman’s arcade ending in the first game.

Now, before you ask, no, I don’t think the idea here would be to have this world end up exactly like the other. I think that would kind of be a waste and a retread. But what would happen if concern over that got so bad that the wrong person at the wrong time ended up with the control to kill Superman? Or, what if the government found out about what happened there and became worried about it happening in their world? Granted, much like Injustice 1’s plot, this is a story that has been done before in the animated series, but it still has potential to be explored, with different characters and interactions as part of it, and heroes and villains taking different sides in the debate that could lead to different alliances. And before anyone says “Well, Superman’s ending in arcade mode isn’t canon to the main story”, remember this is NETHERREALM we’re talking about. They either take elements of the different character endings and incorporate them in future stories and/or make character endings specifically to tease future events all the time.

Overall, though, I think all the signs point to this taking place on Earth Injustice. What especially gives it away is one of the stages we see in the gameplay trailer where Supergirl fights Atrocitus. We see a statue of Superman holding someone’s body, which I’ve heard many who have likewise watched this trailer suggest could be Lois Lane. We know from dialogue between the two Supermen at the end of Injustice 1 that Lois Lane is alive in the Justice League’s world, so this HAS to be Earth Injustice. This also might explain the new gameplay feature: The armour. In the last game, Batman gave the Justice League and members of the Insurgency super pills that were created by Superman and stolen from the Regime (and yes, as Matt and Pat of the Super Best Friends pointed out, Superman has been pushing drugs in this universe, lol) in order to make them tough enough to go toe-to-toe with some of the tougher superhumans out there. However, in the fallout of Superman’s defeat and the arrest of seemingly all the more powerful members of his Regime, what if they stopped making the pills, or perhaps the stuff required to make it ran out? That would lead to the most likely replacement in dealing with the new threat in the new game: Power armour. Something to augment and adjust their natural abilities to make them able to stand up to tougher opponents.

Regardless of what they do with the plot, though, I hope it’s at least less dark and dire than the last one. I don’t need to rant again about how pissed off some of the decisions with the story made me. Hopefully, the more optimistic tone going on with Rebirth (and apparently the movies now that Geoff Johns is gonna be taking over there) will translate here, too. I’ll go more into what I’d like to see from the game later, though. For now, lemme know what you think of what we’ve seen of this game so far, and let’s see if anything more about the game comes to light at E3. Ja né!

…Well, I SAID I’d like to go awhile without talking about the New 52, but as a longtime member of the Poison Ivy League, I feel obligated to share this link and then review the comic next week. So, here are the preview pages for Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death #6.

Poison Ivy and her Sporelings battle for survival in the epic final chapter of “Cycle of Life and Death”! The monster Grim makes his final move, the murderer is revealed, and Pamela Isley’s life will be forever changed! Plus, someone, or someTHING, joins the fray!